And believe me, you've contributed your share.

"Most of us don't care if Obama is or isn't a stud (and what a stupid & shallow characterization of him)."

Oh, did I hit a chord?

"We don't resent him and we don't like him. We don't trust him and we know he's a liar, obfsuscator and a danger to this country's national security."

NObama, you're a likely troll, but I'll run with this. I have read your ceaseless posts now for page after page, and NOT ONCE have you contributed a single cite, a single example, a single FACT to back up your ardent assertions. Lots of rumors, lots of vague accusations, like of sniping. But no specifics. How exactly is he a danger to this country's national security, NOBama?

As in; WHY is he a danger? Because he's a secret Muslim? And even if he was, so damn what? WHAT ARE YOU BASING ALL THIS ON? Please, enlighten us.

"You will get the same or worse outcome as with George Bush if you vote for Obama! They are a LOT alike! They lack a centered character, lack real passion for the issues and for this country and many more similarities! These are reasons I didn't vote for George Bush also!"

Again, more of the same. Vague, baseless accusations that border -no, they are- smears.

So if you're not a Republican and not a troll, I ask you again, where are you getting all this from?

You know what would make me respect you, NOBama, even a scintilla?

If you would just admit, just once, that all these accusations are based on nothing more than your own fears and insecurities? Fear of the Muslims, fear of the blacks, whatever. Probably all of the above.

You speak like a moral authority on Obama's character but you refuse to share any of the sources of your insight. So just admit that you're scared shitless and stop acting like you know the "real" Obama and I can at least give you credit for honesty.

Eh, but you're a troll anyways.

Nah, I stand by it. She married her way to the top.

Listen, I'm a lawyer, top 10 law school blah blah. Plenty of overachievers start out like her and almost none of them achieve fame or rise to the top of the political pantheon. Hillary is smart as a whip, no doubt, but she's in good company.

She failed the DC bar, ended up at a mid-sized firm in Arkansas, hardly a top market. I'm not denigrating her achievement or her character, I actually think she's tops... but if it wasn't for her marriage to Bill, Hillary would be a nameless, faceless partner at a mid-sized law firm. Lots of Yale grads there (here), believe me.

Easy in, easy out. We all want to beat John McCain, it's going to be okay....

Past my bedtime. Goodnight y'all, keep the trolls under the bridge!

Diomedes

Hey, not that there's anything wrong with being a nameless, faceless partner at a mid-sized law firm! You work like a dog, but you're one of the (working) rich and you get a nice window office. Plus, it's not exactly easy to *get* that partnership, especially if you're a woman in the 1980's. I give her a lot of credit for that... so I hope that clarifies things and that I don't sound too glib. (Hell, I'd like to be partner at a mid-sized firm...)

But no, as I said, Bill was the meteoric riser and the natural politician, not Hillary. She's a lawyer's-lawyer; super-intelligent, methodical, studious. Smarter than me and smarter than most, but not one to make it to the White House on her own, even if she was a he! Bill's the glad-handler who could charm the leaves off the trees, and they made a pact that he'd get them there (with an enormous contribution from her) and then he'd reciprocate the favor.

But no Bill, no Senate seat and no White House run.

Patrick, I apologize for the screeching over at the NYT, but please understand that people have just had it. Yes, we're paying less than we really should for being able to fly and land safely, but the perception that we are paying more for less is justified.

Sorry about South Africa airlines, that is atrocious... but have y'all flown on any of the Gulf state airlines, or Lufthansa, or Singapore air, or Cathay recently? For a *slightly* higher price, you get much better service from the ticket agents and on the planes.

I'm not here to complain about pilot salaries, and frankly, I don't think most people really care about that issue. We have an industry in this country that is begging for a total overhaul... yes, Southwest is funny and friendly and cheaper, but did you know they were recently censured because monitors found that their planes weren't being repaired and several of them had safety-impairing structural defects. Now we know how they could keep overhead down...

This is the crux: the airlines don't have to operate like normal businesses because they know that they government will always bail them out when they get in trouble. Other industries, if you can't compete, you go bankrupt or a leaner, meaner foreign competitor does a hostile takeover and reassembles the parts. But here, like a Communist farming collective, we keep prodding up a sub-standard product and that invites stagnation and mediocrity.

Maybe we'd have better airlines if the government would let go and force them to fend for themselves.

This is kind of a non-issue.